PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The aid group led by Hollywood star Sean Penn has begun demolishing the National Palace that was destroyed in Haiti's powerful 2010 earthquake.

The Haitian government invited reporters Friday to see Penn's humanitarian organization, J/P HRO, begin the three-month effort of tearing down the presidential home so it can be rebuilt from scratch.

The earthquake damaged hundreds of buildings in the capital of Port-au-Prince and in other cities to the south. The National Palace was among them, and it came to symbolize the scale of devastation brought by the disaster along with government inertia.

Penn's group volunteered to demolish the National Palace and the dollar amount hasn't been released.

The government of President Michel Martelly says it's still trying to figure out who will rebuild the National Palace.